Lawsuit filed in deaths of three Georgia Southern student nurses

LEESBURG — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the parents of three student nurses killed in an April 22 seven-vehicle accident in Bryan County near Savannah.

The three women and four other Georgia Southern University nursing students were en route to the final day of nursing clinical rotations at a Savannah hospital when, according to the Georgia State Patrol, a tractor-trailer truck driven by John Wayne Johnson crashed into the rear of a Toyota Corolla driven by Emily Clark, with passengers Caitlyn Baggett and McKay Pittman.

The force of impact was great enough, according to the trooper on scene, to carry the semi over the top of the Corolla, where it then collided with the rear of a Ford Escape, in which students Abbie Deloach, Brittney McDaniel and Morgan Bass, a resident of Lee County, were traveling.

Clark, Baggett, Pittman, Deloach and Bass were killed in the wreck, with McDaniel and Richards suffering severe injuries.

According to attorneys for the plaintiffs, the suit was filed by parents of Baggett, Clark and Deloach, and names as defendants Total Transport of Mississippi LLC and its parent company, US Xpress Enterprises Inc., owner of the tractor-trailer, US Xpress, Inc., US Xpress Leasing, Inc., New Mountain Lake Holdings LLC, Mountain Lake Risk Retention Group Inc., Greywolf Logistics Inc., Arch Insurance Company, Robert Gordon Tayloe and John Wayne Johnson.

Bob Cheeley, with the Atlanta/Columbus law firm of Butler Wooten Cheeley & Peak and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said the suit seeks undisclosed monetary restitution for the “full life value” of each of the three deceased women named in the suit, taking into account the remainder of an estimated lifetime of earnings, as well as arguable value to relations, friends and the community at large.

“After grieving the loss of their beautiful daughters, our clients are deeply disturbed over the facts of this wreck and they are demanding justice for the innocent blood which was shed on the roadway that morning,” Cheeley said in a statement.

Cheeley said that inspection of the truck’s “black box” following the incident showed that Johnson never used his brakes or swerved to avoid the collision. Investigation showed that impact occurred at just under 70 mph, Cheeley said.

“The driver of the tractor-trailer was never given a blood test for alcohol or drugs,” Cheeley said, “and that’s a shame because now the parents of these victims will never know for sure.”

A GSP report confirms that Johnson, who was uninjured in the wreck, was cited for following too closely and was not subjected to a blood toxicology test.

Also represented in the suit is Megan Rebecca Richards, who was severely injured in the incident.